Dutch Apple Cake Recipe – Carina Contini

By Katrina Patrick -

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
2 organic free range eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour, sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100ml milk
2 cooking apples, peeled and cored
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced into thick wedges

Method

Steam the cooking apples with a tablespoon of water until completely soft
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla
Fold in each of the eggs with a tablespoon of the flour, then fold in the remaining flour and cinnamon
Pour the sponge mixture into a 28cm loose-bottomed, and lined cake tin
Drop spoonfuls of the cooked apple into the cake mixture
Decorate with apple wedges and sprinkle with sugar
Bake for 40-50 minutes at 180ºC / Gas Mark 4
Allow to cool in the tin
Serve while still warm with a spoonful of lightly whipped cream, or creme fraiche

Carina Contini is Owner of Contini George Street, Edinburgh; Cannonball Restaurant & Bar, Castlehill, Edinburgh; and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant – located at the gardens entrance of the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.

Credit: Carina Contini

Enjoy the tastes of the season with Carina’s Apple Cake Recipe

Carina Contini

I LOVE our festivals.
I don’t know how many times I’ve said this. The festivals put the fun into our capital, and the health into our businesses. Reflecting on this year, the increasing numbers of new visitors drawn to the city really is a triumph.

Destinations around the world are trying to catch up with the legacy we have created, and we can never take it for granted. It’s truly wonderful welcoming guests year after year who visit for the Fringe or the book festival. The dedication of some of the festival fans is humbling.

Having been born in Edinburgh, and lived here most of my life, I feel so lucky to live in a city that has the eyes of the arts world peering at us with envy from every theatre, music hall, comedy club, book store and Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo stand.

From the classical, to the academic, from the comical to the musical, we really do have something for everyone. On top of all of this festival fun, we also have amazing gardens, fantastic restaurants and a train station that can whisk you away to the far corners of our country to enjoy the Highlands or the Borders for the day.

We look after hundreds of thousands of non-UK guests each year. I love meeting American and Asian visitors who see Scotland as their lifetime “dream destination”. They seem to be able to pack so much in, too – some guests manage to see more of Scotland in a week that I’ve seen in a decade.

Tastes of Scotland

They all want to taste smoked salmon, whisky, porridge, and fish and chips – they don’t like the idea of haggis but love it once they’ve tried it.

If you say “venison” they think “Bambi”, so we tend to stay away from this altogether unless they’re foodies. Food is now one of the key drivers, according to VisitScotland, of people choosing to visit our nation. That’s an amazing endorsement and testament to all the hard work that has taken place at all levels of the food chain to raise standards and awareness, and shout loudly about our enviable larder and heritage.

Tourism in Scotland now accounts for around 5% of our GDP. This is a staggering figure. So, while many of the locals of Edinburgh might leave the city to escape the noise, hustle and bustle, they can rest assured it’s in very good hands.
We’ll be here, looking after our visitors, who play such a vital role in supporting our local economy and the arts, and give us the fuel we need to keep going during the winter months.
Let’s say thanks, and haste ye back, to our visitors from around the world. We really do love our tourists.

Find out more at www.contini.com